Battle of Ergersheim

The Battle of Ergersheim (2 February 1814) was a battle of the Napoleonic Wars that occurred at the town of Ergersheim in Alsace-Lorraine, Burgundy, France. The 1,665-strong army of Prussia under Vincent Honigmann defeated Edmond Lemery's 1,992 French troops, losing 355 dead and inflicting 1,688 losses on the French.

Battle
Shortly after the Defense of France campaign began, General Vincent Honigmann led a Prussian army of 1,665 troops into Alsace-Lorraine, penetrating France from the east. The Prussians faced Edmond Lemery's 1,992 French troops, mostly inexperienced and hastily-assembled National Guard troops from the nearby areas of France. The Prussians were mostly musketeers, with some Life Hussars and four batteries of horse artillery; the French had no cavalry to speak of, while they had two artillery batteries.

The French army attempted a frontal assault on Prussia's forces, but the Prussian cannon fired grapeshot at their troops when they came within range of their volleys, inflicting heavy losses. The use of grapeshot made up for the lack of an infantry regiment in the same location as the cannons, as the grapeshot had the same firepower as a whole unit of troops. The French forces took heavy losses, but some units halted their retreat to resist the Prussian pursuers. Prussian hussars charged the French infantry that still stood, and Prussian infantry fired on the French forces that fought them. General Edmond Lemery, the leading French general, was killed along with all of his men as he tried to flee following his staff's deaths, and the French morale collapsed. 1,688 French troops were lost, many of them dead but also including deserters. Only 355 Prussians were killed, with a fraction of them being friendly fire during the French retreat. The battle was a blow to the French, as it allowed for the Prussians to continue their invasion of France through Alsace.